Earlier this week, M&M’s stunned fans by announcing that they were temporarily discontinuing their “spoke scandies” and replacing them instead with Saturday Night Live veteran Maya Rudolph to “defend the power of fun.” Now A&W Restaurants weighs in and jokes about announcing the M&M with one of their own. On Tuesday, A&W took to Twitter to announce a change to Rooty the Great Root Bear — specifically his lack of pants.

“America, let’s talk. Rooty the Great Root Bear has been our beloved talking bear since 1963. We knew people would take notice because he’s literally a six-foot bear wearing an orange sweater. But now we get it – even the lack of a pants mascot can be polarizing.

That’s why we’ve decided that Rooty will wear jeans in the future. Don’t worry, thought: he will remain our official spokesperson. After all, he’s unbearably cute and impossible to replace. We are confident that Rooty will continue to advocate for good food and good times for many years to come…now in denim.”

A message from A&W. pic.twitter.com/WGdF12TSyg

— A&W Restaurants (@awrestaurants) January 24, 2023

What’s up with M&Ms?

On Monday, M&M’s announced the retirement of the “spokescandies”. The announcement came in the wake of some minor design changes to the green M&M, as well as the introduction of a purple M&M spoke scandy last year and all-female packaging earlier this month. According to M&M’s, Rudolph will make his first appearance as the brand’s new “Chief of Fun” in their upcoming Super Bowl LVII campaign.

“America, let’s talk. In the last year we’ve made some changes to our beloved spokes. We weren’t sure anyone would notice. And we certainly didn’t think the internet would break. But now we’re even getting the shoes of a candy can be polarizing. That was the last thing M&M’s wanted, as we are all about bringing people together,” the brand said in a statement on social media. “That’s why we’ve decided to take an indefinite hiatus. welding the ghost candies. Instead, we’re proud to introduce a new spokesperson for America to agree on: the beloved Maya Rudolph. We are confident that Ms. Rudolph will champion the power of fun to create a world where everyone feels at home.”

What do you think of A&W’s post? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!